narrations & Talks

(EXCERPT)

Here's the irony: at the point where the score chokes you up, that's the point where Bernstein and Voltaire have parted ways.
 
Voltaire's caustic sensibility was much closer, actually, to Lillian Hellman's than to Bernstein's. As effervescent and delightful as the songs are in "Candide," it was not enough for Bernstein to leave it at that. He just had to give the show some heart. But in truth, that's not in the genuine spirit of Voltaire.

Read More